US Military uses Stock 1st Gens!! Pics & Article

These pics are from another site, so is the article. I take no credit for what is being said, i am only passing it along.

Quote:

When I first saw these pictures as emailed to me by John H. and later Randy G., I assumed these were simply local
Afghanistan Toyota Hilux trucks being used by our American Special Forces in country. But when I took a closer look
and saw that they were in fact "real" Toyota Tacomas, built in Fremont, California, it completely blew me away.

What makes this so significant is that there are major differences between the Tacoma which is exclusively sold in the
United States and Canada and nowhere else and the Hilux trucks which are sold everywhere else in the world, including
the ones used by the Taliban and the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan The Tacoma uses an entirely different suspension
and frame and some (including myself) have questioned it's strength compared to the older Toyota trucks and the current
Hilux. From these photos we can see that the Tacoma is being used under perhaps the harshest conditions imaginable
for a truck and with very heavy loads, and they are apparently being used in combat! There is no greater test for a 4x4
than how it performs in both desert and mountainous conditions in actual combat. While this is the expected norm for
any other Toyota it is very impressive to see that even the Tacoma can live up to the Toyota name. And it's nice to see
that our troops believe the Tacoma is tough enough to put their own lives on the line with it. No doubt, the Tacomas are
holding up despite some questionable design features of the frame and front end.

So, the obvious question is, why ship brand new Tacomas all the way from the United States, when Middle East, Europe
and Asia is full of Hilux trucks, which include a heavier duty frame, suspension and diesel engines. The answer is that
was simply easier for the Special Forces to buy them from local U.S. dealers, outfit them as they needed and ship them
over. The reason why the 4 door Tacoma was chosen as the vehicle, is because Toyotas are very popular in Afghanistan
and they would not stand out as much as the Humvees. In addition, the gas V-6 engines are much quieter than the diesel
engines of the Humvees and other military transport vehicles and better suited to daytime and nighttime covert
operations. Finally, the Tacoma is a durable and reliable 4x4.

From Mr. Slim, via email: A lot of the trucks came from Fort Campbell. Some of the mods Including all interior and
exterior lights and door buzzers disconnected along with the radios. Roll cage and mount for an M60 machine gun, WARN
winch, cheap brush guard, and 2 antenna mounts. The 3.4 V-6 engines had no mods. that I know of. One of the coolest
things is that the front lights were changed to infrared for night vision.

 

Yep. When I was in Iraq Special Forces dudes were riding around in Red/Burgandy 1st Gens as well. This is the reason I bought a Taco. I figured if they were good enough for SF they have to be good trucks.

 

Makes me wonder if this is part of the reason why the 1st Gens. hold there resale value so well?

 

Cool, I wonder what a commercial fire the Tacoma in military use would look like....you know, in the neighborhood of the asteroid commercial and lochness monster haha.




And what will others think when they tell us we don't support america by buying "jap" trucks and we share this info with them?

 

Here's an ARTICLE I ran across a while back. It's an armored vehicle that is custom built for the military. Looks more like a nissan's front end but i can't really tell, still cool none the less. The powerstroke engine is pretty cool and I wouldn't mind having one in my toyota!

 

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/1st-gen-tacomas/86518-custom-taco-iraq.html

 

pretty cool. wonder why they didnt beef the suspension up a little bit for them for all the extra weight and terrain.

 

Now we know where all the buy-backs are going!

 

where do I find a mount like that for mine?


very cool!

 

They used 1st gens due to their similarities to the local hiluxes... and they used the 1st gen because they have quieter gasoline engines.. not because the tacoma was the most durable truck available.. the hiluxes are much stronger trucks..

 

party pooper ^^^^

 

... I wonder what jeep thinks about this... USA cheating on them with Toyota?!?! OMG!! lol

 

i assume that they use the first gens so they look like they should be there, Im sure there are enemy Hilux's out there so these blens in a little better.

i wonder is this is where all out "frame rot buy backs" went???????

 

Looks like a Nissan body yeah. Except it has a 6 liter in it

 

They've used these trucks for quite awhile now. We are actually building a few bumpers for some Tacomas that are used here in the states to train SF units in offroad driving.

 

I'm surprised they use red and burgundy instead of gold or brown. Maybe the terrain is so open they figure that they will be seen regardless of color. Maybe a variety of colors also allows them to blend in better with local vehicles.

 

I landed at Fort Campbell and while taxiing to parking it looked like a toyota dealership. They where all lined up all different colors of the rainbow. Some still had stickers in em. Those 5th group guys are good dudes with great tasted in trucks. Thats when I decieded I would have to own one one day.

 

Still my favorite hilux and what I have modeled my truck after for when I need to take on some alien scum.

 

Yah I know! necro post but hell, look!!

U.S. Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, receives a mountaintop brief from U.S. and Afghan special forces on Camp Morehead, Afghanistan, April 23, 2012.

http://www.blackfive.net/.a/6a00d8341bfadb53ef016765a56178970b-pi

Look at the picture yo! Super White 2nd Gens!

 

Another reason US special forces used tacos instead of the hilux despite the latter's availability on that side of the globe, the taco better satisfies the "buy American" criteria for government spending.